An introduction to the Year 11 students representing our academy this year.
THE TEACHERMISS MURRAY
Find out all about Miss Murray’s favourite things and the best advice she ever recieved. 6-8 9-10
Looking for your next read or your next binge-worthy series?
Read the fantastic winning entries from the autumn term 11-12 13-15
blockbusters hitting the big
the team behind the magazine
Front Cover image by Kai W - Year 11. Kai has been out and about taking landscape photography in the local area. This work has been manipulated in Photoshop with giant floating monoliths giving off their own imposing presence.
The Our People Magazine Team would like to wish everyone at Newhouse Academy a Happy New Year and welcome back!
WANT your work TO FEATURE ON THE NEXT FRONT COVER?
Are you interested in art or photography? Would you like your work to be published on the front cover of the Our People Magazine and displayed on the school website?
Each term, the Our People Magazine team will be running a competition to decide which piece of artwork or photography should be featured on the front cover.
Entry Requirements:
Anyone from any year can enter. You can submit a drawing, painting, piece of digital artwork or photograph. The work must be your own. Collaborations between two or more students are allowed. You can only enter once per term.
How to Enter:
Submit your entry to Mrs Zebedee in BL10. Physical and email submissions are welcomed. Speak to Mrs Zebedee if you have any questions.
Meet our Head Girl and Head boy
With our first term now behind us, our Head Girl Natalie and Head Boy Jayden have settled into their new roles. Here, we asked them a few questions about their ambitions for the year ahead.
Why did you apply for the position of Head Girl?
I applied to be Head Girl because I wanted the opportunity to represent my school, experience leadership and to encourage others to be the best version of themselves and develop their creativity and confidence.
What do you hope to achieve this year and what legacy would you like to leave behind?
I hope that this year I will gain many more life skills that I can use in the future and that I will also improve as a leader. I want to be remembered as someone who was approachable, who people could talk to and I hope to inspire others to be competitive and always aspire for the best in themselves and others.
Who is the person you look up to the most?
My mum is someone I definitely look up to a lot. She is brave, talented and approachable. Her kindness and selflessness can never go unnoticed and I think those are traits everyone should strive to have.
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What do you think is the best thing about Newhouse Academy?
I love the way that Newhouse Academy has improved so much in the time that I’ve been here. Each student brings their own unique personality and identity which, when brought together, is inspiring and creates an amazing environment to be in each day.
Why did you apply for the position of Head Boy?
I applied to be Head Boy because I wanted to be able to be someone that students could turn to if they were facing difficulties and that people would know I was there for them.
What do you hope to achieve this year and what legacy would you like to leave behind?
Over the course of the year I hope to improve my leadership qualities and continue my academic progress. I want people to remember me as someone who was kind, helpful and, most importantly, respectful.
Who is the person you look up to the most?
I really look up to Mr Burnham. He started at Newhouse Academy at the same time as I did and the positive changes he has made have had a huge impact. Newhouse Academy is a very different school to the one I started at only four years ago and I think the changes that have been made are really impressive.
What do you think is the best thing about Newhouse Academy?
I think the best thing about Newhouse Academy is our new facilities such as the fitness suite, science labs and technology rooms. With all of the new equipment it really does have a positive impact on our learning and I’m sure many students would agree that they are able to enjoy and engage in lessons much more now I feel privileged to have been able to experience the new building for my GCSE year and I know it will continue to be an amazing addition to our school for years to come.
STUDY TIPS To help you achieve
When trying to revise or complete homework, it’s important to set yourself up for success. We’ve compiled a list of the best study tips to help ensure that you can focus and achieve but remember, everyone is different and these might not all work for you.
1. Find a quiet, calm place to work. Humans cannot multi-task. It’s a fact. When we think we ’ re multi-tasking we ’ re actually doing something called task-switching. We can’t pay proper attention to more than one thing at a time So, if you ’ re trying to revise and watch TV, FaceTime your friend and complete your homework, or talk to someone in the same room, it’s actually going to take you longer, and the work you produce will be less successful because you ’ re forcing your brain to change from one task to the next Instead, try listening to some quiet music if you struggle to focus in silence or if you can’t find a quiet place at home. Reduce the number of distractions by turning your phone off or at least placing it on do not disturb and remember the library is open at breaks and lunchtimes if working at home isn’t an option
3. Find a method that works for you
Maybe you learn best through creating spider diagrams, completing practice questions or making flash cards. Maybe you prefer watching videos instead of reading through notes. You might have to try out a few methods before you figure out what really works for you, and you might need to use different techniques for different subjects or tasks.
5. Reward yourself
Finding the motivation to study outside of school can be tricky so, when you do, reward yourself. This might be in the form of a snack, watching your favourite film or seeing your friends once you ’ ve completed your work. Studies actually suggest that people find work more enjoyable when they know they can reward themselves later.
6. Ask for help
2. Take Breaks
Whilst it’s important not to spend too much time away from your work, it is just as important to give your brain regular breaks. Set yourself an achievable goal e g ‘Once I’ve finished revising this topic, I’ll get myself a snack and have ten minutes on my phone ’ Overloading your brain with too much information at once will reduce how much you remember and increase the likelihood of creating unnecessary stress.
4. Start with plenty of time
Don’t leave it all to the last minute! The less time you have to revise or complete your homework the more stressed you will be and the less likely you are to remember key information or complete your homework well Start early and give yourself plenty of time to go back over things you might find difficult Some people find that creating a schedule of when they will revise or complete homework works best for them and helps to keep them focused and on track.
Even though you might be revising or completing homework away from school it doesn’t mean that you can’t ask your teachers for help. If you ’ re struggling, find them after school or at the end of a lesson and explain what you need help with They’re the best people to be able to answer a question, point you in the right direction or offer you extra resources. However, don’t leave it to the last minute to speak up. There’s no shame in needing extra help but teachers can only provide it if you let them know early enough. It’s no use turning up on the day of an exam and saying you didn’t revise because you were stuck if you ’ ve not taken the time to ask for help
7. Work with friends
This one doesn’t work for everyone but, if you can make it work for you, it might make completing your extra work a little more enjoyable. Friends can be a great resource to use when revising or completing difficult homework They might understand things that you don’t, they might be able to explain an idea or concept in a way that makes more sense to you and you might be able to do the same for them. However, it’s important to choose the right friends to work with; if you know you’ll just end up talking, getting distracted and not completing any work, it’s probably best to save the socialising for after you ’ ve finished.
8. Become the teacher
Once you feel you ’ ve got a fairly good understanding of an idea or topic, try teaching it to someone else This could be anyone or anything
Teach your parents, friends, cousins or siblings about life in the time of Shakespeare, test their knowledge of algebra or the periodic table. Alternatively, talk to the wall, to your posters, to your childhood teddies Your audience don’t need to be able to respond but saying it out loud can be a really useful way of making sure it sticks.
10. Be honest with yourself
9. Don’t let your mental health suffer
Preparing for exams can be a really stressful time and you might be feeling anxious Remember that you can only do as much as you can do in the time that you have. It’s important to make time for sleep, relaxation and seeing friends, which is why starting your revision early is so important so that you don’t feel rushed or like you need to cram it all in. Exams are important but so are you and it’s important to be honest about how you are feeling If you feel like you need help, let a family member or member of staff know in school.
Once you get your marks back, the next stage of revising is honesty. Where did you go wrong and why? Did you not understand something, did you not revise it well enough, did you not ask for help? It’s not always easy to be honest with ourselves but it’s important that we are in order to make improvements and fix our mistakes for next time
Meet the Teacher - Meet the Teacher -
Miss Murray Miss Murray
Every term, we ’ re going to be interviewing different members of staff in order to learn a little more about the person in front of the whiteboard. In this issue, we got to interview Miss Murray from the English department
‘THE WORLD DOESN’T REVOLVE AROUND YOU- NOBODY IS GOING TO REMEMBER ALL THE EMBARASSING THINGS YOU’VE DONE’
Q: What's your favourite book that you have read to students in English and why?
A: My favourite book has got to be A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I love the way the words flow and how lyrical it is. I look forward to teaching it every year because I think Dickens really has a way with words.
Q: What is your favourite genre of reading?
A: I love horror stories and films because I love the thrill of being scared I really like Shirley Jackson’s books because I think she writes horror really well.
Q: What is your favourite film and why?
A: I love watching Harry Potter at Christmas time because it always gets me in the festive spirit; the food looks and sounds amazing and it always takes place during winter
Q: What was your favourite Christmas gift you received this year?
A: I’m absolutely in love with my new UGGs but my favourite gift is my new electric flosser- a very boring adult gift but really useful.
Q: What is your favourite food?
If I had to choose a favourite, I think I’d go with a butter chicken curry and a garlic naan I just think it’s one of those foods you can’t go wrong with.
Q: What’s your favourite book and why?
A: I love Where the Crawdads Sing. It’s a beautiful book that combines a gripping plot with some wonderful descriptions of nature
Q: Why did you decide to teach your subject?
A: I like being able to teach children about the wider world through books and stories because I think it helps them to understand some really important ideas such as tolerance, love and forgiveness.
Q: What’s it like working at Newhouse Academy?
A: I really enjoy it. My department is a lot fun to work in and I love teaching the kids here; there’s just something about them, they have personality and passion
Q:What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
A: It came from my brother He told me ‘The world doesn’t revolve around you- nobody is going to remember all the embarrassing things you ’ ve done ’
Q. What’s your 2025 resolution?
I’d like to start waking up earlier so I can make my mornings a really productive time. I’m also hoping to inspire as many students as I can to get into reading.
‘I LOVE TEACHING THE KIDS HERE; THERE’S JUST SOMETHING ABOUT THEM, THEY HAVE PERSONALITY AND PASSION.’
Go Big- Matthew Burton
I would highly recommend Go Big as it is a book that helps you with settling into secondary school and what your first couple of days and weeks will be like It provides advice on how to make the best start, how to deal with bullying and how to make new friends
The book then goes on to tell you a little bit about what GCSE’s are and what it will be like to sit your exams because, whilst it may seem like a long way off when you ’ re in Year 7, it comes around really quickly. Go Big then gets you to think about your future after school and what careers you might want to go into I really enjoyed Go Big because it helped me feel more confident when I started secondary school Mia C.
The Vampire Diaries- L. J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries series is based on a set of books by L. J. Smith and is probably one of my favourite series to binge watch As the name might suggest, it is all about vampires and magic I really like the series because there are multiple plot twists, lots of drama, some romance and it is really intriguing. I love the characters and everything that happens in it. I really suggest you watch it or read it, it is available to watch on Netflix and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Nicola K. B O O K , F I L M A N D T V R E V I E W S
Heartstopper- Alice Oseman
The Heartstopper graphic novels by Alice Oseman are some of my favourite books They’re funny and heartwarming and really show what it can be like to be a teenager growing up in the UK. The main plot follows Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson as they discover who they are and fall in love surrounded by their friends who all have their own stories to tell as well. On Netflix, the latest season of Heartstopper has just been released and is definitely well worth a watch whether you ’ ve read the novels or not Isla F.
Slated- Terri Terry
Slated is the first in a dystopian trilogy, perfect for fans of The Hunger Games or Divergent. Set in the UK in the near future, this book tells the gripping story of Kyla. She has had her memories wiped by the government for a crime she has no recollection of committing and is about to be released from hospital to start her new life with new parents, a new sister and a new school But Kyla remembers things she shouldn’t be able to and her search for the truth might just prove deadly.
Freedom Writers
Freedom Writers is a powerful and inspiring movie based on a true sto highlighting the transformative power of education and understanding The film follows Erin Gruwell, a passionate and determined young teacher who starts her first teaching job at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California. Her class is composed of students fro diverse and troubled backgrounds, struggling with issues like gang violence, poverty, and racial tension. Erin must gain their trust in order improve their life chances and give them their voice against those who wish to silence them
Holes is a fascinating story about friendship, fate, and perseverance. The novel, written by Louis Sachar, follows Stanley Yelnats, a boy wrongly accused of theft, who is sent to Camp Green Lake a desolate, harsh detention camp where boys are forced to dig holes all day in the desert As Stanley struggles with the grueling conditions, he befriends the other boys, especially a quiet and mysterious boy named Zero. Together, they uncover the true reason behind the endless digging: the warden is searching for a hidden treasure linked to a long-standing family curse. B O O K , F I L M A N D T V R E V I E W S
Walk. Ride. Rodeo
I really like this film because it shows determination and resilience. This amazing true story is about a young adult called Amberley Snyder; a promising rodeo barrel racer who loses control of her truck and becomes paralyzed. At first, she believes her dreams of being a professional barrel racer are gone, however with a lot of hard work and physiotherapy, Amberley finds a way to ride again. This film has everything you could be looking for; drama, tension, romance and a feel-good ending
Isla F. Holes
COMPETITION WINNERS
Last term, our amazing library team ran a Halloween poetry competition. Lots of fantastic. entries were put forward and Darcy H, from Year 7 was chosen as the winner. Her poem was displayed around school for students and staff to see.
Year 7 students, Eva W, Emily R and Oscar have designed the bookmarks above. They each received a certificate and a prize for their wonderful artwork which incorporated our academy’s values and ethos. The bookmarks have been professionally produced and are used in our library.
KEY STAGE 3 -
CHRISTMAS CARD COMPETITION
Our first place Christmas card this year was designed by Lola B in Year 7 and was sent out to our local community to wish them, and their families, a Merry Christmas from everyone at Newhouse Academy.
Our second place design was created by Jorgie H-F in Year 8. Her design features part of the Our People Agenda which underpins everything we strive to do and be at Newhouse Academy.
Our third place entry was designed by Amelia A in Year 7. Both the second and third place designs were featured on the back of our community Christmas card.
What’s on at the Cinema?
Wicked
Wicked, the untold story of the witches of Oz, stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, a young woman misunderstood because of her unusual green skin.
Paddington in Peru
Paddington in Peru brings Paddington back home to the Peruvian jungle to visit his beloved Aunt Lucy, now a resident at the Home for Retired Bears
Mufasa
Simba, having become king of the Pride Lands, is determined for his cub to follow in his footsteps while the origins of his late father Mufasa are explored
Meet the Team
JOURNALISTS AND DESIGNERS
MIA C.
Mia is one of our writers. Her favourite subject is English because she loves reading. Outside of school, Mia enjoys drawing and finds it really therapeutic.
ISLA F.
Isla is another one our writers who loves English. She has a love for reading and enjoys extending her vocabulary. Outside of school, Isla is an avid horse rider and finds the hobby relaxing and peaceful.
NICOLA K.
Nicola is our final student writer and her favourite subject is Performing Arts because it is fun and she gets to express herself. Nicola enjoys socialising with her friends outdoors.
AZAHEIR W.
Azaheir is our student designer and her favourite subject is science because it is fun and she enjoys learning new things. Azaheir enjoys going to the park and spending time with her little brother.
